Executive Summary
Desert Palm apartments are 1, 2, and 3 bedroom apartments in the middle of the city designed for the modern city dwellers. The apartments will be situated in the heart of Nairobi the market target being middle-income young professionals. The apartments will be located in a fast-paced environment and will have a secured underground parking.
The Project comprises an apartment block in the middle of the city. The apartment block shall comprise 3 No. 1-Bedroom units, 3 No. 2-Bedroom units and 2 No. 3-Bedroom units. In addition to this, each unit shall have 2 designated parking lots situated below the apartment at an underground level.
Business Objectives
- To increase MJ holdings market share in Nairobi
- To provide affordable yet quality accommodation for city dwellers and to alleviate the persistent problem of insufficient housing in the city
- To build a sustainable and profit oriented business in Nairobi that will help the business grow and expand
- To enhance our reputation as the leading developer in East Africa by investing in competitive ventures
- Successfully providing competitive infrastructure using our team of qualified professionals
MJ holding is capable in providing housing solutions as is evident from the numerous projects successfully undertaken over the years that have contributed to our knowledge and innovation. MJ holdings intends on increasing its market share by 30 percent and increasing profits by 25 percent and Desert Palm apartments will help catapult the company to this goal.
Business Vision: To provide competitive affordable housing and parking facilities within the city centre that remains relevant at all times ensuring stable and sustainable profits to investment
Project Management Objectives
- To manage time in a project allowing it to commence on a specific starting point and end in a specific predetermined time
- To control the cost and resources to complete the project within the given budget
- To instill a sense of direction so as to ensure commitment, this includes motivation, teamwork and developing confidence.
- To act as a change agent who introduces innovations and overcomes resistance to necessary change that is beneficial to the project as a whole.
A need arises for project management in this project due to:
- There is unfamiliarity: the project being in the middle of the city in a crowded place. It would therefore require the services of a project manager to decipher and tackle the challenges that arise with great creativity and innovation.
- The project context is a rapidly changing environment due to the crowded nature and possibly shortage of space within the site to act as temporary storage of building materials and equipment. A project management structure thereby becomes suitable due to its flexibility and diversity.
- The reputation of the organization undertaking the development is at risk. This is due to the complex nature of the target market that would find the apartment less attractive should it fail to be completed within a reasonable amount of time. The failure to complete the project would also result into a financial loss to the stakeholders and compromise future opportunities in terms of relationship with financing bodies.
Solution to Business Objectives
- Provision of Parking within the apartment (at basement level: 2 car parks per unit) increases the value of the apartment and it would thus make it attractive to the target market and as a result the period of recouping investment would be shortened.
- Provision of 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom units gives a diversified products thereby maximizing on the market attract the required demand.
- By manipulating design variables, the interplay between the different units, their diversified nature and ample parking space gives a niche to the project over similar nature allowing investors to enjoy returns throughout the life cycle of the project (Lock p.234).
Project management Solution/ Description
- Time will be managed through creation of a structure that outlines a schedule in which activities/ milestones are best performed in order to complete the project in the required time. This is achieved through analysis of the various processes involved in construction using Critical Path Method (CPM) and Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). Activities which can thus run concurrently are scheduled to run that way so as to save on time.
- With project complexity in terms of number of subcontractors involved in carrying out the project, the project management team provides direction by motivating the parties involved. The project manager also acts as the entrepreneur in the project in terms of mobilizing resources, facilities and human resources.
Project Description
MJ ltd intends on constructing middle income apartments targeting young professionals, Desert Palm will consist of one, two and three bedroom apartments that will cater to the economic need of the target population as well as desire for a sanctuary in the ever-busy streets of Nairobi.
Upon the successful completion of Desert Palm, we project an increase in the profit margin by 15% and market share increase by 9%. Moreover, we will achieve trust in potential consumers and respect among our competitors and shareholders.
The project includes the erection of three blocks consisting of one, two and three bedroom apartments. Due to constraint of space (Crowded City), project management presents opportunities that allow the organization to move fast through a flexible and diverse project management structure. Desert palm Apartments is faced by a risk, time and financial constraint. The project is to be tackled in a manner that would ensure a minimum of this constraint. Complexity arises with the number of contractors working on the project. All these contractors depend on each other for materials, and service. It becomes paramount to ensure smooth running of operations among these contractors.
The impact of this project includes retaining workers and establishment of a sustainable profit oriented development. Measures of the project success include the completion of the project within the budget, time limit and without extreme strain on human resource. Assuming that there are no unexpected problems arising (Philips p.354)
The Roles of the employees and Project Stakeholders are as follows
The identity of the stake holders are as follows.
Project Approach
By phasing the project, First putting up the 3- Bedroom Units within the apartment then proceeding to do build the rest of the apartment (Ireland p.110). This may attract the Target clientele for the 3-Bedroom units to pre-purchase the units before actual completion of the units. This would amount to extra funding to carry the project to completion. It would be safe to assume that the target clientele for the 3-bedroom units would be a family who may have accumulated adequate savings and would be keener to purchase a unit. Their counterparts are either fresh graduates or young couples who would be looking to rent a 1-bedroom unit or a 2-bedroom unit.
Project Estimates
Estimated Schedule
Key Project milestones relative to project start are as follows:
Resource Requirements – Team and Support Resources
The following personnel resources are required to complete this project:
Assuming that they work within the expected time schedule
Estimated Cost
Assuming that there are no major unexpected accidents.
Checkpoint/ Funding Schedule
Funding will be received upon completion of every phase as per the project expectations. Thorough assessments will be carried out and a detailed financial statement will be required.
Project Controls
Steering Committee Meetings
Steering committee meetings will comprise of the officials from MJ Holdings and the contractors. the purpose of these meetings will be to monitor progress and to solve any problems that may arise during the construction.
Monthly Status Reports
Monthly Status reports will be handed to the owners and stakeholders in an attempt to monitor progress.
Issue Management
All Project-related issues will be tracked, prioritized, assigned, resolved, and communicated in accordance with the Project Management Procedures. The Project manager is assigned this task and is required to communicate these issues with the owners.
Change Management
With such site context, changes may have to be effected to allow for steady progression of the construction. This may pose a challenge due to number of parties involved. The project manager therefore would introduce innovations that would result in necessary change and at the same time overcome any resistance that may arise. The project manager will analyse all changes before implementation and reviewed by MJ Holdings inorder to determine its effects on budget and time.
Communication Management
The project manager would act as a centre of communication between the parties involved. He would receive all the results, requests, memoranda and complains. He would also give out information to subordinates and all stakeholders on matters such as policies, budgets, objectives and schedules on a weekly basis; however. The project manager will also provide status report to MJ holdings on a monthly basis and distributes the project team meeting minutes. MJ Holdings on all urgent issues, these issues include time and financial constraint. Steering committee meetings and monthly status reports will also be carried out to ensure communication between all parties involved.
Authorizations
The Scope Statement will be approved by:
The Project Manager: Samson James
The Project Owner: MJ holdings Ltd
The Project Sponsor: MJ Holdings Ltd
Project Changes will be approved by:
MJ Holdings Ltd
Project deliverables will be approved/accepted by:
The Project Owner: MJ Holdings Ltd
The Project Sponsor: MJ Holdings Ltd
The key Stakeholders: MJ Holdings Ltd
Specific task responsibilities of project resources will be defined in the Project/work Plan.
Scope Statement Approval Form/Signatures
Project Name: Desert Palm Apartments
Project Manager: Samson James
I have reviewed the information contained in this Scope Statement and agree.
The signatures of the people above relay an understanding in the purpose and content of this document by those signing it. By signing this document, you agree to this as the formal Project Scope Statement.
Works Cited
- Ireland, Lewis. Project Management. Washington: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2006. Print.
- Lock, Dennis. Project management. Surrey: Gower Publishing, 2007. Print.
- Phillips, Joseph. PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide. Washington: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2003. Print.